


Gone

by mukario



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 04:50:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6315592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mukario/pseuds/mukario
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto hasn't seen Haru for over six months and didn't know if he was alive or not.<br/>MakoHaru zombie apocalypse AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my friend thegracefuldeer for proofreading! <3  
> I started this back in October 2014 but I finished it today! ;v;

It had been two years since the “apocalypse” began.

Some failed scientific experiment had led to the rise of something everyone was secretly afraid of -- man-eating rotten zombies.

It swept Japan like a hurricane, taking cities like Kyoto and Tokyo without warning. The disease had taken a good chunk of the population out of existence. Of course, it hadn’t taken long to reach Iwatobi, and like hell it did. The once peaceful small town was now overrun with living corpses that could sense a human from miles away. Slowly, everyone was either dead or turned into one of the god-awful creatures.

Rin was dead. Sousuke went not long after him, and poor Momotarou had been a victim of a zombie bite. Rei and Nagisa hadn’t been seen in three months, and Haru was nowhere to be found. And only God knew where Nitori and Kisumi had wound up.

Makoto found himself alone in his fight against the zombies.

It seemed like something out of a movie. All of his friends were either dead or missing, and he knew he could be next at any time. All he had to defend himself was a gun he found whilst raiding an old hunting store a while back.

Forget graduating high school, forget college, forget his future.

All he could do was fight to live until there wasn’t any fight left in him.

He had found himself in an old abandoned shack on the outskirts of Iwatobi. He ducked down against the wall, giving himself a clear view of the outside world through the empty doorframe. After convincing himself the coast was clear, he exhaled and slid down the wall.

In situations like this, he thought of his family. He had convinced his parents and siblings to board one of the last planes to America before the airport shut down. He stayed behind, much to their disliking. He just couldn’t leave Iwatobi behind. But when his life is in danger, and he could be killed at any second, constantly reminded that a zombie could sense him through the walls from hundreds of yards away, he regrets his choice.

But what would’ve happened to Haru if Makoto had left?

 _He’d still be alive_ , a voice in his head growls. _He’s probably dead and you know it. You know it’s your fault_.

“No,” he says aloud. “Haru is fine. Haru is fully capable of surviving on his own. Haru is strong. Haru is smart. Haru… Haru is…”

He pulls his knees to his chest.

“...gone.”

His fists clench.

“And it _is_ my fault.”

If he had left, if he hadn’t convinced Haru to go to town with him that day, if he hadn’t been too lazy to join Haru when he went to the grocery store, maybe, just maybe, Haru would still be with him.

“Dammit,” Makoto muttered, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. “I let him go to the zombie-infested store alone. He never came out of there. And I ran like a coward.”

He remembers it well. His mind told him to go in a find Haru, but his legs disobeyed. At the first sight of a zombie he ran in the other direction. His mind was screaming, _turn around! Turn around!_ But he ran, and he ran, until his legs collapsed.

And the remains of his heart collapsed at that moment too.

That was over six months ago. It was August now. Maybe September? He couldn’t tell. He just knew the air got chillier and the sun set earlier and earlier than the days before.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a stale granola bar. He peeled back the wrapper and took a bite. He glanced out the door, relieved that there was little activity in this place.

He heard a crunching noise.

He dropped the granola wrapper and it fluttered silently to the ground. He remained still.

The crunch noise sounded again, louder this time.

He lightly reached over and grabbed hold of his rifle.

 _Crunch._ Louder.

 _Crunch._ Louder.

 _Crunch._ Louder! Whatever was outside, whatever was crunching the leaves underneath their feet, whatever the hell it was got closer and closer with each crunch.

His breathing slowed and his heart raced. If it was a zombie, he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to fight today.

One more _crunch_ and Makoto sprung to his feet and ran outside. He quickly scanned his right, and then his left, and his eyes fell upon a shadow on the other side of the shack wall.

He aimed his rifle. His hands and legs shook, but he took two steps forward and whipped around to see whatever had been making the noise.

His eyes widened. His grip loosened and the gun fell to the ground. He was frozen.

“Makoto...?”

There stood Haru, the sun shining on him as if he were some godly figure. Hell, to Makoto, this was a heavenly experience. Haru, living breathing Haru, was there in front of him. His hands were raised in surrender.

“H… Haru…” Makoto managed to say. “Ha… I… I’m…”

Haru lunged forward and threw his arms around Makoto’s neck. The momentum caused them to swing in a circle, and Makoto wrapped his own arms around Haru’s waist and held him close.

What would’ve happened if Makoto had left?

They wouldn’t have experienced this moment of pure bliss in a world that was out to kill them.


End file.
